Rudder control for towboats



June 11, 1929. c. E. WARD RUDDER CONTROL FOR TOWBOATS Filed Sept 14, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet l June 11, 1929. c. E. WARD RUDDER CONTROL FOR TOWBOATS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 14, 1927 June 11, 1929. c. E. WARD I RUDDER CONTROL FOR TOWBOATS Filed Sept. 14,-1 9?! 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 gwwmtov: [/Mi 5 VWWQ.

c. E. WARD 1.717.286

Filed Sept. 14, 192'? 5 SHeets-Shet 4 H mm W v I M r PHH NU 11 H I i/Mjf RUDDER CONTROL FOR TOWBOATS June 11,

c. E. WARD June ll, 1929.

RUDDER CONTROL FOR TOWBOATS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 14, 1,927

Jibuenkoz:

Patented June 11, 1929 CHARLES E. WARD, OF CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA.

RUDDER CONTROL FOR TOWBOATS.

Application filed September 14, 1927. Serial No. 219,515.

This invention relates to rudder constructions for tow boats and the like and has for its object to provide a construction more efiicient in use than those heretofore proposed With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic top plan View of the stern of a boat made in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a View somewhat similar to Fig. 1 but directed to illustrating the rudders in a different position, and the screws rotating in opposite directions;

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2 wlth the screws rotating in the same direction and the rudders in still further different position;

Fig. 1 is a View similar to Fig. 1, but illustrating a different system of control for the rudders Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4: illustrating the flow of wheel water against the rudders;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken as on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but illustrating still another control for the rudders;

F 8 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through a propeller but illustrating the invention as applied to a shallow draft tunnelless boat;

Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view taken as on the line 99 of Fig. 6 and looking in the direction of the arrow; and

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view taken as on the line 10-10 of Fig. 8 and looking in the direction of the arrow.

A tow boat is generally indicated at 1 and comprises the main bottom 2, the sides 3, and the stern 4. The main bottom 2 is substantially parallel with the gunwales 5 and the water line indicated by the line-6, see Fig. 6. Near the stern, the bottom 2 is inclined upwardly as indicated at 10 :and is provided with a plurality of tunnels or chambers 11, as well understood in ships of this character and as clearly shown in the drawings. The bottom 10 in forming these tunnels 11 also forms a secondary bottom 12 as clearly peller 15 will be located in a tunnel 11, and

above the main bottom 2 of the boat, see Fig. 6. Further the propellers 15 are disposed in a common transverse plane as represented by the line in Fig. 2.

With special reference to Fig. 2, it will be observed that there is provided a plurality of aft rudders 21 whose stems or axes 22 are located in the same transverse plane indicated by the line 23 which is substantially parallel with the plane 20 passing through the propellers 15 and with reference to Fig. 6 it will be observed that the top surfaces of the rudders 21' do not extend above the secondary bottom 12, so that said rudders may be freely turned beyond the extremities of the tunnels of the boat. Each rudder 21 is further dis posed adj acenta propeller 15 so that the stem of said rudder is in the same longitudinal plane of the vessel with the shaft of the propeller, and spaced aft of said propeller-so that the rudder may freely swing without interfering therewith. I

Also referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that there is provided another pluralityof rudders 25 the stems 26 of which are disposed in atransverse plane indicated by the line 27 which is substantially parallel with the plane 20 of the propellers 15 and spaced forward thereof a sufficient distance to freely permit the swing of each rudder 25 without interfering with a propeller. Also it is to be observed that each rudder 25 is mounted along the lateral extremity of a tunnel 11, or stated in other words, on either side of each tunnel 11 there is disposed a forward rudder 25, and with reference to Fig. 6 it Will be seen that the top surface of each forward rudder is disposed substantially flush with the secondary bottom 12 of the boat.

Referring now to Fig. 1 it will be seen that all of the forward rudders 25 have their stems interconnected as by the link bar 30 so that all' of said rudders are moved in unison by any suitable means such as the operatingrod 31 pivoted as at 32 to one end of a crank 33 the other end of which is rigidly'secured to a stem of one of the rudders 25. It will also be seen that all of the aft rudders 21 have their stems interconnected as by the bar b5 so that said rudders are moved in unison upon operating the rod 36 pivoted as at 37 to one end of a crank 38 the other end of which is rigidly secured to a stem of one of the rudders 521. The interconnections between the forward rudders as well as the interconnections between the aft rudders are such that each set of rudders will not. only move in unison but will at all times be parallel. In other words, in Fig. 1 is disclosed a means of operating a plurality of forward rudders in parallel unison, and a separate or independent means of moving the aft rudders in parallel unison. The result of this rudder control is that when the vessel is moving ahead as indicated by the arrow in said figure, the aft rudders may be and held on the center line so as to offer the least possible resistance to the vessel through the water and the water flowing to the propellers which are going astern and thus forcing water against the forward rudderswhich may be set for the desired movement of the stern of the vessel. If the vessel is desired to be moved astern in a straight line, the forward rudders will be operated to place the same on the center line, but should the stern of the vessel be desired moved in the direction of the arrow in said Fig. 1 while the propellers are backing, the forward rudders will be moved obliquely to such a position as indicated in said figure and the propellers rotated to force the water in the direction of the arrows, whereupon the water will freely pass the aft rudder but will be forced by said propellers against an oblique surface of each of the forward rudders and diverted therefrom with resultant movement of the stern of the vessel to starboard. In the conditions illustrated in Fig. 1 namely, moving the stern of the vessel to starboard while backing, the propellers which are rights and lofts are rotated in opposite directions as indicated to produce the movement. or flow of water to the forward rudders. The natural movement of the vessel ahead will of course be diminished bythe reversal of rotation of the propellers and resistance offered by the forward rudders which are moved hard over.

Referring now to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the right and left propellers are likewise rotated in opposite directions, but in such a di rection as to force the water therefrom astern for movement of the vessel in the forward direction as indicated by the arrows. In the particular arrangement of rudders shown in this figure. the forward rudders offer little or no resistance to the water flowing to the propellers but. the aft rudders are set hard over so that said water will be forced by the propellers against an oblique side of the aft rudders and be deflected therefrom to produce movement of the stern of the vessel to starboard. I

From 1 and 2 it will therefore be readily seen that there is provided positive means for permitting the flow of water to the propellers which is forced thereby against the other set of rudders for producing directional movement. of the stern of the vessel as" desired, and in accordance with the longitudinal directional travel of the boat.

In Fig. 3 disclosed a different condition and from which it will be observed that the aft interconnected rudders 21 and the forward interconnected rudders 25 are each, as a group, set hard over to produce a different movement of the vessel. That is to say, the forward rudders are set and held hard over in one direction whereas the aft rudders are set and held hard over in the opposite direction, and the right and left propellers 15 rotated in the same direction. With this arrangement of control, the vessel will be given no longitudinal movement but the stern of the vessel will be moved to starboard as shown by the arrows. The reason for this will be obvious from the said Fig. 3, but may be stated as being the result of the port propeller forcing the water ahead while the starboard propeller is forcing the water astern, each propeller thus counteracting the work performed by the other. The water forced by the port propeller strikes an oblique surface of the pair of forward rudders associated therewith, and is deflected therefrom in a direction to produce movement of the stern of the vessel to starboard. Likewise the water moved by the starboard propeller is forced aster-n against the oblique face of the starboard aft rudder 21 and deflected therefrom in a directionto also produce a starboard swing of the stern of the vessel, thus augmenting the action produced by the port propeller and its associated forward rudders. In this connection it is to be observed also that the water forced by the starboard propeller astern is directed into a natural channel created by the two parallelly disposed aft rudders. And further that the water forced by the port propeller in a forward direction will pass through the natural channel provided therefor by the port pair of forward rudders thus minimizing a circular movement or whirl of water between the two propellers before accomplishing positive work in movement of the vessel through the medium of the rudders.

With reference to Fig. 4 a slightly different rudder control is disclosed. In this arrangement the port forward rudders are connected for parallel movement in unison, and

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this pair of rudders is linked to the starboard aft rudder so that all three rudders are simultaneouslymoved upon actuation of the rod 40. 111 other words, this rod is pivotally connected as at 41 to one end of a crank 42 the other end of which is rigidly secured to the stem of the outer port forward rudder 25, the stem of which is interconnected as by the link 43 to the stem of the next adjacent forward rudder 25, the stem of which is in turn connected as by the link 44 to the stem of the starboard aft rudder 21,the link 44 being so connected as to provide the same amount of circular movement of the aftstarboard rudder as is given to the forward rudder to which it is connected, but this connection is not adapted to provide a parallel movement in unison between the aft rudder and the pair of forward rudders to which it is connected, as will be evident from said figure.

Likewise a rod is pivoted as at 51.to one end of a crank 52 the other end of which is rigidly secured to the stem of the outer one of the pair of starboard rudders 25, and said rudder is connected as by the link 53 to the stem of the adjacent forward rudder of said pair, to insure parallel movement in unison of said pair of rudders. Also the stem of the inner of said pair of rudders is interconnected as by the link 54 to the stem of the port aftrudder 21 to produce simultaneous movement thereof with the forward starboard pair of rudders, but said connecting link 54 is not adapted to produce a movement of the port aft rudder at all times parallel with its associated pair of forward starboard rudders.

However, as clearly indicated in Fig. 4, the aft rudder and its connected and associated pair of forward rudders will all be-parallel when said rudders are held on the center line.

With such an arrangement of rudders as disclosed in Fig. 4, and with the right'and left propellers 15 rotating in the same direction as indicated as by their arrows, and the rudders in the positions shown, there will be produced no longitudinal directional movement of the vessel. butthere will be produced a movement of the stern thereof to port as indicated by the arrow. The reason for this is that the oppositely formed propellers rotating in the same direction will negative each other as was the case as illustrated in Fig. 3. In other words, as clearly indicated in Fig. 5, the port propeller will force the water ahead against the oblique setting of the port forward rudders and this water coming from the rear must have'no resistance offered thereto. Consequently it is necessary to have the port aft rudder on the center linev lso the starboard forward rudders must be on a center line to ofler the least possible resist ance to the starboard propeller which is forcing water astern against the hard over starboard aft rudder. Thisrudder effect is augmented by the side thrust of the propellers rotating in a direction to produce a side thrust in the same direction as the rudders.

In Fig. 7 the forward rudders 25 are interconnected as by the rod and the aft rudders 21 are likewise interconnected as by the rod 61,- both of said rods being joined to a single operating rod 62 as through the respective pivoted cranks 68 and 64. Thus with the cranks ofthe same size, there will be an equal movement of the interconnecting rods 60 and 61. There will also be an equal rotation of the forward and aft rudders, if said rudders are of the same size, but if said rudders vary 1 in size, or the points of connection between the rods 60 and 61 and the respective rudders are located at difierent distances from the stems of said rudders then there will be created an unequal turning movement of the forward rudders with respect to the turning movement of the aft rudders. Circumstances and requirements will determine the desirability of equal or unequal turning movements of the rudders and therefore changes will be made either in the pivotal distances of the rods with respect to the rudder stems, or in the dimensions of the arm of the cranks 63 and 64. \Vith the rudder-control illustrated in I this figure and both propellers rotating in the directions. indicated by the arrows, the wheel water will be forced in the direction indicated,an'd with the rudders all set on center line, a rearward movement of the vessel in the direction indicated by the arrow will result. Any turning of the rudders during said movement will give the usual port or starboard additional direction of travel of the vessel. It is to be noted that in this rudder control the forward rudders are still dis posed at the lateral extremities of the tunnels 11, but the aft rudders are located in said tunnels in line with the longitudinal planes of the propeller shaft.

In Figure 8 is disclosed a vessel not provided with the tunnel construction but whose main bottom 2 is extended'on an upward incline as indicated at 10 to a pointjustbelow the water line 6 to provide the secondary bottom 70. lVith this type of vessel the forward rudders are still located to either side of the propeller with which they are associated as clearly shown in Fig. 10 and the aft rudder, likewisein the longitudinal plane of the pro peller shaft 16, is enlarged so as to'extend substantially-from the subsidiary bottom 70 to the main bottom 2, thus increasing the area of the aft rudder whereby the same-is made more eifective. The underlying principles of the invention are retained in both types of vessel, illustrated in Figures 6 and 8, namely, the'provision of'an aft rudder in longitudinal alignment with each propeller shaft, and a pair of forward rudders associated with each propeller and disposed in planes substantially tangent to the extremities of the propeller blades whereby at least one half of the surface of each forward rudder receives the full effectof the water from each propeller, while said pair of forward rudders at all times creates a channel for the water, to or from the associated propeller.

From all of the figures of the drawings it will thus be seen that this invention provides a control system for tow boats having a plurality of propelling screws therefor, a plurality of rudders associated with said screws arranged in a plurality of transverse planes of the boat, and operating means controlling the rudders in said planes. Further, this particular arrangement of the rudders is such that they are also arrangedin'a plurality of longitudinal planes one of which passes through the propeller shaft or sufficiently outside of said shaft to permit withdrawal of said shaft without removing a rudder, in which case said rudder will be so constructed as to cover the same projected area of the propeller when said rudder is hard over. Still further all of the rudders are so disposed with relation to the screws, that said screw is intermediate of the transverse and longitudinal planes passing through said rudders. This invention also contemplates the particular control of the rudders whereby a pair of forward rudders is operated simultaneously and means provided for operating the aft rudder differently or unequally from the'operation of the forward pair of rudders. In the various connections between the rudders it is to be observed that such control covers the linking together of a pair of forward rudders and that the control for this said pair of rudders not only produces simultaneous operation thereof, but keeps them in parallelism. Further the rudder connections are such that a pair of rudders in one plane of the boat can be simultaneously operated differently and unequally from a rudder in another plane of the boat. I

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction as well as the arrangements of part-s without departing from the spirit of the invention, and therefore it is not desired to be limited to the foregoing disclosure except as may be required by the claims.

What is claimed is 1. In a control system for tow boats the combination with a tow boat of a propelling screw therefor; a plurality of rudders one rudder located aft of said screw; and single means for simultaneously operating said rudders including means for differently operating the aft rudder.

2. In a control system for tow boats having two laterally spaced screws the combination of a plurality of rudders one rudder located in line with but aft of one of said screws and a pair of rudders located forward of the other of said screws; and single means for operating said rudders in unity including means for differently operating the aft rudder.

3. In a control system for tow boats the combination with a tow boat of a plurality of propelling screws therefor; a plurality of rudders for each screw one rudder located aft of each screw and a pair of rudders located forward of each screw; and means for opcrating a forward pair of said rudders in unity with a diagonally opposite aft rudder.

l. In a control system for tow boats the combination with a tow boat of a plurality of propelling screws therefor; a plurality of rudders for each screw, one rudder located aft of each screw and a pair of rudders located forward of each screw; and means for operating a forward pair of rudders simultaneously; as well as for operating in unity therewith the diagonally opposite aft rudder differently from the operation of said forward pair of rudders.

' 5. In a control system for tow boats the combination with a tow boat of a plurality of propelling screws therefor; a plurality of rudders for each screw, one rudder located aft of each screw and a pair of rudders located forward of each screw; and means for operating a forward pair of rudders simultaneously and similarly; as well as for operating in unity therewith the diagonally opposite aft rudder dissimilarly from the operation of said forward pair of rudders.

6. In a control system for tow boats the combination with a tow boat of a plurality of propelling screws therefor; a plurality of rudders for each screw, one rudder located aft of each screw and a pair of rudders located in a transverse plane of the boat said forward rudders being in planes substantially tangent to the extremities of the blades of the associated screw; means for operating the rudders of each forward pair simultaneously in unison; as well as for operating differently in unity with each of said pairs the diagonally opposite aft rudder.

7. In a control system for tow boats the combination with a tow boat of a plurality of rudders arranged in a plurality of transverse and longitudinal planes; a propelling screw intermediate said planes; and cross connections between said rudders whereby a pair ofrudders in one plane and a rudder in another plane can be simultaneously oper ated differently in unity.

8. I11 a control system for tow boats the combination with a tow boat of a propelling screw therefor; a plurality of rudders one rudder located in substantial line with but aft of said screw and the other rudders located forward thereof; and single means for differently operating in unity a forward and the aft rudder.

9. In a control system for tow boats having two laterally spaced screws the combination of a plurality of rudders one rudder located substantially in line with but aft of one of said screws and a pair of rudders located forward of the other of said screws; and means for differently and simultaneously operating in unity a forward rudder and the aft rudder.

10. In a control system for tow boats the combination with a tow boat of a port side screw; a starboard screw; a plurality of rudders arranged fore and aft of each screw; and means for differently operating in unity the forward and aft rudders of opposite screws, said means including cross connections between the operated rudders.

11. A control system for tow boats comprising a starboard group of fore and aft tweenya port group of fore and aft rudders "with a propelling screw therebetween, and

cross connections between a forward rudder of one group and the aft rudder of the other group.

12. A control system for tow boats comprising a star board group of fore and aft rudders with a propelling screw therebetween, a port group of fore and aft rudders with a propelling screw therebetween, a connection between a forward port and aft starboard rudder, and another connection between a forward starboard and aft rudder.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CHARLES E. WARD.

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